Read recent and archived obituaries and memorial notices from Toronto Star. (2024)

FAQs

How do you find a person who passed away? ›

Read The Paper or Watch The Local News

If you receive a physical newspaper, review the obituaries section to see who recently passed. Searching for someone who died more than 30 days ago? Turn to sites like Google News Archives, US News Archives, or International News Archives.

Nowadays, many obituaries can be found online, published digitally on the websites of newspapers and funeral homes, as well as on remembrance sites like Legacy. The local library remains a good place to look for older obituaries, with library newspaper archives often dating back a century or more.

ObitMichigan.com is dedicated to delivering immediate, up-to-date information on obituaries 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to families and friends in Mid-Michigan.

A basic online search may reveal an obituary or information about a memorial service. Type the person's name and words like “death,” “obituary,” or “memorial” and any personal information you may have, such as their date of birth or names of close relatives who could be mentioned as one of their surviving kin.

The Archives of Ontario receives Vital Statistics records from the Office of the Registrar General of Ontario on an annual basis. These records contain indexes (where they exist) and registrations capturing information about births, marriages and deaths in Ontario.

Obituaries inform of a passing, celebrate a life, and are not mandatory but are often still part of estate plans.

Searching Online

The first place to look for free death records in Ontario is online. The Office of the Registrar General has an online database where you can search for death records by name or date of death. The database is updated regularly and contains records dating back to 1869.

How much does it cost to put an obituary in the local newspaper? ›

Several factors affect the cost of publishing an obituary. On average, it will cost anywhere between $100-$1,000. Publishing it in local or smaller metropolitan newspapers costs around $60 to start. Large metropolitan newspapers charge anywhere from $263 to several thousands of dollars.

Contact the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Vital Records and Health Statistics, Vital Records Requests, P.O. Box 30721, Lansing MI 48909, or call 517-335-8666. Order forms are available online on the MDHHS website, too. Contact the county clerk in the county where the event occurred.

Many funeral homes publish obituaries on their websites. These can usually be located with a Google search on the person's name. Local genealogical and historical societies, public libraries, and some newspaper publishers maintain clipping files of obituaries.

Death certificates are a matter of public record.

Check the obituaries in local newspapers. Perform an online search using their name and determine if it is listed any news stories. Contact the police (if you believe that their death was a homicide or an accident) NOTE: The police may become suspicious if you don't provide them with a valid reason for your questions.

Internet Public Library – Finding Obituaries – An updated guide on searching for obituaries. Legacy.com – This site allows you to search for recently published obituaries, a small fee is required to view most results. Obituary Central – A database that searches for obituaries and performs cemetery searches.

The SSA provides an extract from its file for distribution through the Department of Commerce's National Technical Information Service. Because this extracted file deals with deceased persons, the information is considered to be in the public domain.

Funeral home records vary in format and content, but they can all be valuable for determining someone's death date. Check genealogical and historical societies; state, county, and local libraries; and municipal archives for possible holdings.